I Have Stuck Song Syndrome
Most of us have been there before. You wake up in the morning or you’re washing dishes or you’re in your car, waiting at a red light and it pops into your head. That song, that jingle, that refrain, or even just those few bars. Maybe you weren’t even aware of when or where you first heard it. Or sometimes, stuck song syndrome (SSS), unlike the term implies, can be a pleasant experience we bring about ourselves by replaying that one wicked (in a good way) track that manages to spread your lips into a smile that bumps into your puffed-up cheeks before pushing that joyful sensation up into your eyes. And you can’t help yourself. You play the track again and again and it resonates long after you take the needle off the record or the air pods out of your ears. If you don’t remember feeling this way but want to, I have an idea: try listening (real loud) to The Whistle Song by Frankie Knuckles. Isn’t the flute awesome?
Occasionally, the experience of SSS (referred to by some folks as earworm — eek!) is more complicated. It feels painful but ultimately produces a sense of comfort. My earliest memory of “sticky music” is an example of this. A song traveled into my mind shortly after my uncle Lenny passed away suddenly, from a heart attack. He was 44. And I was 14. For as long as I can remember, I had adored Lenny…
